Trainee Commercial Manager Review

I found the placement year extremely challenging, it was very tough at times but I thrived off the challenge and felt every challenge was a learning curve which I took something away from. I relocated for my placement which at first was hard but by the end I loved the experience. I loved feeling part of a team and being in a role where I felt at times I was making a real difference with the responsibility you are given.

I felt that I had the support of the colleagues I was attached to however its a tough environment to be able to gain respect as its such a fast paced role colleagues have a large work load. By the end of the placement I felt I was a lot more valued than the start and believe this came from the progression I had made during the year. I do think more support could be given for BPP's relocating but I do feel I had made some great connections with the colleagues I worked closely with over the year and that I am and will continue to keep in touch with.

the managers that I was attached to were great and really supported me throughout the year. Some attachments felt more structured than others and I think although you are expected to drive your own development and seek feedback proactively that there should be more of a solid process in place for receiving feedback as it can sometimes fall to the bottom of the list with the work load especially leading up to peak.

although working a lot of hours every day almost I would find myself saying there was not enough hours in the day to finish tasks. There was always something to do and some days were extremely busy others not as busy but the days went so fast due to this. I do feel there is an expectation that you stay later than you are contracted which is the culture in retail so you have you ensure you are controlling the work life balance.

from the first day you are expected to go straight into the management role which was extremely daunting especially if you are completely new to the business but the opportunity really does fast track your development. I was often running departments in the absence of the managers and even carried out relief work towards the end. I was in charge of coordinating and heading up meetings for costs, organising and leading loyalty events for our customer and co ordinating phase changes each month.

I have been given the most valuable training in my year at M&S and I have gained skills that will help me in my last year of university and in any role I am in after university. I have matured and grew as a person and feel 100% more prepared to enter employment after university.

there were days that were more fun than others, the team I worked with were extremely hard working but always made it fun when there was time

the structure is great that you get to see all areas of the business. I feel it could have been more organised in terms of our development and maybe the attachments could go from the backstage areas at first to then the attachments on the shop floor so you have a better understanding of how things work behind the scenes before going straight to being customer facing.

I was always travelling across the region or to others to complete training course, the company invest a lot into your development.

I have been offered a job after uni with M&S and cannot wait to return!

I made a lot of friends during my year both colleagues and graduates who I socialised with a lot as I had relocated and will always be in contact with. There was 3 parties during the year I was there and they were always great fun.

I relocated for my placement and I found it very expensive and wasn't able to save for my final year I do feel BPP's relocating should maybe get some sort of financial support to those who are able to stay at home. I found it hard to afford to travel home a lot of the time. I did stay in the city centre to save on travel so I paid more than I could have for rent.

I lived in the city centre so the nightlife was on my doorstep which was great fun when you were off work or could go for a drink on an evening.

there wasn't really any activities after work which I would have found beneficial being in a new area.